Long-form answers to the questions behind the tables — week budgets, where to stay, monthly rentals, seasons. Every number comes from the index.
· 15 min read
Renting a car in Phuket priced from the index — an economy automatic at $24 a day on a week-long rental — with the collision damage waiver and excess explained, airport counters against local desks, the International Driving Permit, left-hand driving, fuel at 37.01 THB a litre, child seats and where a car can actually park.
· 16 min read
Renting a 125 cc scooter in Phuket priced from the index — $9 a day, $121 a month — with the licence and International Driving Permit rules, the helmet fine, deposits without a passport, fuel at 37.01 THB a litre, rain, checkpoints and where to rent by area.
· 21 min read
The whole Phuket trip in one guide with live figures: who the island suits and at what budget, the climate month by month, flights and the airport, transfers from $24, all 15 areas with a 4-star night from $62, days of living, tours, scooters and cars, eSIMs, money, visas, health, and what a long stay looks like.
· 11 min read
A week in Phuket priced from the index: hotel nights, a day of food and getting about, airport transfers and a boat day in Patong, Kata and Bang Tao at three levels — current medians, with a calculator that adds them up for your dates.
· 12 min read
Every way from Phuket International Airport to each area — official taxi counter, ride-hailing, pre-booked minivan, shared minibus and the 100-baht Smart Bus — with the current index fares, where to find each option in the arrivals hall, journey times and the traps that cost first-time arrivals the most.
Updated · 15 min read
A month in Phuket added up from the index — villa or apartment, thirty days of a mid-range basket, a scooter or a car, internet, visas, schools and hospitals — compared across Bang Tao, Rawai and Phuket Town for remote workers, families and retirees.
· 13 min read
What the south-west monsoon actually does to Phuket month by month — rain, rain days, sea state and swimming flags from eleven years of climate normals, how many people still come (MOTS monthly visitors), what closes (the Similan Islands, mid-May to mid-October) and what the index can and cannot yet say about lower prices.
· 10 min read
Phuket's tourism statistics explained from the official series: visitors by year and the COVID collapse, the change of leading market from China to Russia, India's fourfold rise, when each nationality comes, hotel occupancy and spend per day, and the airport's own count — with the difference between a visitor and a passenger spelled out.
Updated · 13 min read
The monthly villa market priced from the index — three-bedroom pool villas by area (Bang Tao, Kamala, Layan, Rawai, Chalong, Nai Yang, Kata and island-wide) — plus what a monthly rent does and does not include, electricity at private-landlord rates, deposits, seasons, the contract, and how to check the owner before you pay.
· 14 min read
What changed on 15 September 2026 (visa-free stay cut from 60 to 30 days, list trimmed from 93 to 60 countries), who keeps a bilateral deal, how the Thailand Digital Arrival Card works, how to extend, and which visa fits a stay of a month or longer — checked 4 September 2026.
· 13 min read
Fifteen Phuket areas in one comparison: character, who each suits, distance from the airport, and the current hotel and villa medians from the index — from Patong's budget rooms to Layan's hillside villas.
